{"id":604,"date":"2023-04-19T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/health-and-beauty-fulfillment-for-online-stores\/"},"modified":"2025-08-26T00:52:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T00:52:12","slug":"health-and-beauty-fulfillment-for-online-stores","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.shipbob.com\/uk\/blog\/health-and-beauty-fulfillment-for-online-stores\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Scale Health and Beauty Products: Online Stores with Intelligent Fulfilment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Table of Contents<\/p>

** Minutes<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

DTC health, beauty, and wellness brands are growing fast<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you ready to scale?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to look for in a fulfilment partner<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning fulfilment into a competitive advantage<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who has scaled their health, beauty, and wellness brands with ShipBob?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re ready to scale, ShipBob can help<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

DTC ecommerce is growing<\/a>. More and more consumers are ditching traditional retail for DTC brands, especially in health, beauty, and wellness industries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s not just in the US \u2013 the rising popularity of DTC health, beauty, and wellness products is a global phenomenon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re thinking about starting a health, beauty, or wellness online store, or if you\u2019re looking to grow your brand to the next level, here\u2019s what you need to know about the current industry and how to scale efficiently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DTC health, beauty, and wellness brands are growing fast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DTC brands in the health, beauty, and wellness market are taking the ecommerce world by storm, and the industry continues to grow worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some surprising stats that showcase its tremendous growth:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

US health, beauty, and wellness market is forecasted to reach $91 billion<\/a> in 2023<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This indicates that the health, beauty, and wellness sector is one of the fastest-growing markets in ecommerce. It has also seen steady growth year-over-year \u2013 even in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 \u2013 and is projected to continue its upward trajectory through 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Source: Grand View Research<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Health and beauty ecommerce sales are projected to grow by 77% between 2021 and 2026, reaching $358.4 billion<\/a> by 2026. <\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This indicates that online cosmetic companies<\/a> are continuing to attract online shoppers, and that more DTC brands are staying competitive, despite the presence of leading online retailers like Glossier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many DTC brands have started out locally and have grown to sell products all over the world with the help of a fulfilment partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CBD products alone are expected to reach $20 billion by 2024<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

CBD products fall under the health, beauty, and wellness category because of the health benefits they claim to provide like pain relief, better sleep, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some ecommerce businesses have been hesitant to launch a CBD product online due to payment processing<\/a> limitations (as CBD is considered a high-risk product), but fortunately there are many options available to carry out online CBD transactions and other tips to sell CBD online<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you ready to scale?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Scaling a DTC health, beauty, or wellness business is certainly possible. But the biggest question is: How do you scale? There\u2019s more competition than ever, so having a solid strategy in place to scale your business is important. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most critical aspects of your scaling strategy to think through is how you\u2019re going to fulfil and ship orders \u2013 and how to do so affordably, and in a timely manner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While self-fulfilment may be manageable for a little while, it\u2019s not a scalable solution long-term.  In fact, your business may already need a better fulfilment solution to keep growing. Here are some telltale signs that it\u2019s time to abandon self-fulfilment, and find a partner to help you scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your orders are increasing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If your orders volumes are rising \u2013 or if you anticipate sudden influxes of orders in the coming weeks or months \u2013 it may be a good time to switch to a fulfilment strategy that can support those volumes.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Self-fulfilling orders<\/a> will become a challenge as order volumes grow, and it will become harder to manage your inventory and get orders out the door in a timely manner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Prior to our partnering with ShipBob, our orders were processed manually. It was doable, but it wasn\u2019t an effective use of time. From the very first conversation with ShipBob\u2019s team, I was sold. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are immensely passionate about the customer experience, so although we still continue to handle the first order each customer receives (leaving us time to personalise those a lot more), ShipBob fulfils every subsequent shipment from their fulfilment centre in the UK. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been fantastic. It used to take me 2 hours a day to do the work that ShipBob does for me \u2013 that\u2019s 40 hours a month that I have back now, thanks to ShipBob. And that\u2019s only the time spent shipping orders. Factoring in the considerable time I\u2019m saving by not picking and packing orders myself, I have so much more freedom to focus on other priorities.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Kelly Bond, Operations Manager at Elle Sera<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Your customer base is expanding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You may have started selling on just one channel, and shipping just to local customers. But what if you want to sell on other marketplaces, or if orders start coming in from across the country or around the world? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As your customer demographics and geographies get bigger, you\u2019ll need fulfilment that serves all customers effectively. Consider where your customers are shopping and where they\u2019re located, and find a fulfilment partner that can streamline fulfilment across all channels and locations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re having trouble keeping up<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As your monthly order volume increases and your customer base expands, storing inventory and fulfilling orders yourself can cause a lot of headaches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re struggling to get orders picked, packed, and shipped quickly, or having a hard time keeping shipping costs<\/a> down, it\u2019s probably time to outsource<\/a> to a partner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By handing off fulfilment to a trusted 3PL, you\u2019ll be able to free up space and time to focus on more strategic priorities (like product development, building partnerships, and marketing), and make it easier to grow your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to look for in a fulfilment partner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re looking to scale your ecommerce business, you need to work with a third-party logistics (3PL) company that can handle order fulfilment and warehousing for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, not all 3PLs are created equal. Here are a couple common issues you may find when evaluating 3PL partners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An expansive fulfilment network<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Your 3PL partner should have a fulfilment network that lets you store inventory close to customers, so that you can avoid high shipping costs and lengthy lead times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if you\u2019re shipping a lot of orders to customers across the country (e.g., from New York<\/a> to California<\/a>), then storing inventory in a single warehouse in New York will make shipping expensive for you and keep your customers waiting.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A centrally located warehouse can be nice to get started, but be sure to partner with a 3PL that has locations in other regions so you can keep shipping fast and affordable as you grow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cShipBob has been a great ally as they have fulfilment centres all over the US, facilitating a 2-3 day delivery time for any customer in the US. This is helpful especially when weather challenges happen; being able to have different locations to ship from allows for a more seamless supply chain.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andrea Lisbona, Founder & CEO of Touchland<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Integrations and partnerships  with ecommerce tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As you grow your business, you\u2019ll also be growing your tech stack. Without the right logistics provider, it will be a challenge to synchronize fulfilment with all your other operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good 3PL should have direct integrations with major ecommerce tools, platforms, and marketplaces, so that you can connect your network seamlessly and scale fulfilment easily. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Up-to-date technology<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The ecommerce landscape is constantly evolving, but not all 3PLs evolve with it. To keep up, your brand needs a fulfilment partner with an advancement mindset that utilises up-to-date technology throughout their operations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tech-enabled 3PLs leverage software and automation throughout their operations to streamline fulfilment for efficiency and cost. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make sure that your fulfilment partner of choice uses tools like barcode scanners, automated pick list generation, and box size selection algorithms to provide checks and balances, save time, and minimise waste. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their merchant-facing software is also critical. A 3Pl\u2019s software should be intuitive and easy to use, giving you visibility into operations and performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some 3PLs even track analytics and KPIs across your inventory, orders, and shipping, so your brand can glean new insights and identify areas for improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simple, straightforward pricing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many 3PL partners seem to offer a great deal initially, only to surprise brands with hidden fees down the road. The right 3PL for our business will deliver transparent billing (complete with clear, itemized invoices breaking down every cost) and a simple pricing structure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning fulfilment into a competitive advantage<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With so much competition in the health, beauty, and wellness industry, it\u2019s important to distinguish your brand. With the right partner, fulfilment can be a huge differentiator that adds value, builds customer loyalty<\/a>, and even drives revenue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are just some of the ways a 3PL like ShipBob can help you leverage fulfilment to scale your health, beauty, or wellness brand, and give it a competitive advantage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n